Grounding, or ‘earthing,’ as some people call it, involves placing your feet directly on the ground without shoes or socks as a barrier. The logic behind this practice relates to the intense negative charge carried by the Earth. This charge is electron-rich, theoretically serving as a good supply of antioxidants and free radical destroying electrons.

According to Dr. James Oschman, a PhD in biology from the University of Pittsburgh and an expert in the field of energy medicine, “Subjective reports that walking barefoot on the Earth enhances health and provides feelings of well-being can be found in the literature and practices of diverse cultures from around the world. For a variety of reasons, many individuals are reluctant to walk outside barefoot, unless they are on holiday at the beach.”

It makes sense if you think about it; in our most natural state, we wouldn’t have anything covering our feet. Putting your feet on the ground enables you to absorb negative electrons through the soles of your feet, and this can help to align your body to the same negatively charged electrical potential as the Earth.

The Science

A study published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health titled “Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons” postulates that earthing could represent a potential treatment for a variety of chronic degenerative diseases.

It concluded that simple contact with the earth, through being either outside barefoot or indoors connected to grounded conductive systems, could serve as a natural and “profoundly effective environmental strategy” against chronic stress, ANS dysfunction, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, disturbed HRV, hyper-coagulable blood, and many common health disorders, including cardiovascular disease:

“The research done to date supports the concept that grounding or earthing the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity.”

Another study, conducted by the Department of Neurosurgery from the Military Clinical Hospital in Powstancow, Warszawy, along with other affiliates like the Poland Medical University, found that blood urea concentrations are lower in subjects who are earthed (connected to the earth potential with the use of copper wire) during physical exercise and that earthing during exercise resulted in improved exercise recovery.

It concluded:

These results suggest that earthing during exercise inhibits hepatic protein catabolism or increases renal urea excretion. Earthing during exercise affects protein metabolism, resulting in a positive nitrogen balance. This phenomenon has fundamental importance in understanding human metabolic processes and may have implications in training programs for athletes.

A study published last year from the Developmental and Cell Biology Department at the University of California at Irvine found that grounding the human body improves facial blood flow regulation.

As mentioned earlier, studies have also found grounding to reduce blood viscosity, a major factor in cardiovascular disease.

One study, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, even concluded that earthing may be “the primary factor regulating the endocrine and nervous system.”

How You Can Get Grounded

We all spend most of our time walking on the earth wearing shoes with rubber or plastic soles. These materials are insulators, and accordingly we use them to insulate electrical wires. They also disconnect you from the Earth’s electron flow, which we are supposed to be connected to.

However, if you wear leather soled shoes (or vegan leather!) or walk barefoot on sand, grass, soil, concrete, or ceramic tile, you will be grounded. If you walk on asphalt, wood, rubber, plastic, vinyl, tar, or tarmac, you will not be grounded.

So the next time you are outside, take off your shoes! You can also use conductive systems while sleeping, working, or spending time indoors for a more convenient and lifestyle-friendly approach.

Schuman Resonance

In 1952, German physicist Professor W.O. Schumann of the Technical University of Munich began attempting to answer whether the Earth itself has a frequency — a pulse. His assumption about the existence of this frequency came from his understanding that when a sphere exists inside of another sphere, an electrical tension is created.

Since the negatively charged earth exists inside the positively charged ionosphere, there must be tension between the two, giving the Earth a specific frequency. Following his assumptions, through a series of calculations he was able to land upon a frequency he believed was the pulse of the Earth. This frequency was 10hz.

It wasn’t until 1954 that Schumann teamed up with another scientist, Herbert König, and confirmed that the resonance of the Earth maintained a frequency of 7.83 Hz. This discovery was later tested and verified by other scientists.

Since then, the Schumann Resonance has been the accepted term used scientifically to describe or measure the pulse of the Earth.

Even though the existence of the Schumann Resonance is an established scientific fact, there are few scientists who fully understand the important relationship between this frequency and life on the planet.

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Rachael has been with Live Science since 2010. She has a masters degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology and a Master of Science in biology from the University of California, San Diego.

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